Below are a few items from the internet this week that are worth your time. If Donald Trump Has Done Anything, He Has Snuffed Out the Religious Right As a 26-year-old evangelical pastor, I completely agree: The 30-year-old evangelical pastor down the street from you would rather die than hand over his church directory to a politician …
Continue reading Trump, Heresy, & Sunday Morning (Oct. 14, 2016)
Giving to the poor is a staple of Christianity and most other religions. Typically, we consider giving alms to be an inherently righteous and holy act, so when Jesus warned that there was a wrong way to give to the needy, most people likely hadn't even considered that was possible. How can giving ever be …
SUGGESTED VERSES FOR MEMORIZATION & MEDITATION Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 6:1) Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the …
Below are a few items from the past week worth reading. ESV Reader's Bible, Six-Volume Set I love the concept of a Bible designed entirely for reading. The Westminster Bookstore also has a sale on this set throughout October. An Apology to Christian Millennials I am sorry that we made the church to be all about you …
Continue reading Oct. 7, 2016 (Reader’s Bible, Internet Usage, & Sabotaging Sermons)
Preaching through the Sermon on the Mount is providing great material for blog posts because Jesus raises far too many topics and issues to cover from the pulpit in the 16 weeks I have planned for the series. Last week, I attempted to expound upon remarriage since questions of remarriage are raised from Jesus' discussion of divorce. …
It's officially October, which means that 2016 is circling the drain. Time to start thinking about 2017. Why plan for the next year in October? Let's be honest. The Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year season is not very conducive for realistically planning the coming year. The holidays are a blur of busyness, and January ends up catching us …
SUGGESTED VERSES FOR MEMORIZATION & MEDITATION Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil. (Matthew 5:37) But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone …
Continue reading Oaths, Retaliation, & Loving Our Enemies | Matthew 5:33-48
Below are a few articles that I found beneficial this past week. 5 Ways To Not Suck at Sharing About Jesus We mean well and want to share about Jesus with our friends, but an invitation without relational investment is a sales pitch. 7 Reasons Why Faithful Church Attendance Matters “I love Jesus but not …
Divorce sucks. And many know it firsthand. Unfortunately, the sting of divorce is rampant. If you haven't felt it personally, chances are you've felt it through friends or family. Since it is, by nature, the destruction of a covenant of the utmost intimacy, divorce is never a light or easy topic. This Sunday, I preached, in part, over …
SUGGESTED VERSES FOR MEMORIZATION & MEDITATION You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to …
B. C. Newton 